Sand available at Elgin Academy for flood risk

SUPPLIES of sand are being made available in Elgin so people to fill their own sandbags.

Stockpiles have been delivered to the car parks at Elgin Academy and Elgin High School.

Empty bags are being made available at Moray Council’s depot at Ashgrove in Elgin.

Council staff have been working throughout the night filling sandbags for distribution to areas most at risk but have been unable to cope with the demand.

A council spokesman said: "We are making empty bags available and directing people to the schools where they will be able to fill the bags from the sand supplies we are making available.

"Our own staff are continuing to fill sandbags which we are delivering to strategic points where the risk of flooding is most imminent and most serious."

Elgin High has been put on standby as a rest centre in the event that people have to be evacuated from their homes and river levels are continuing to be closely monitored, although most of the flooding problems so far have been caused by surface water following more than 12 hours of torrential rain which has blanketed the whole of Moray and beyond.

Many roads are affected by deep surface water, including stretches of the A96 and A98, and are passable only with care.

A number of roads are currently closed by floodwater in Elgin, including Edgar Road, Maisondieu Road, Station Road, Victoria Crescent, Linkwood Road, New Elgin Road and Thornhill Road.

Elgin Community Centre has been closed and a number of industrial premises in the Chanonry and Moycroft area have also been affected.